Are you planning a wedding and not sure what wedding flowers you need, or how to go about getting a quote? We know exactly how you feel, as we get daily enquiries from brides to be who aren’t sure where to begin, or what to ask for. So to help get you started, we’ve put together this simple and easy to follow wedding flower guide, listing all the most important floral requirements you need to consider for your wedding day:

The Wedding Party

Flower girl – A clip with flowers for her hair, pomanders (a ball of flowers to carry) or a basket with flowers.

Corsages – For the bride and grooms mothers and grandmothers (optional) – these are usually roses or mini carnations pinned to the shoulder or made up as a wrist corsage.

Button holes – For the Groom, Best men, Page boy, Bride and grooms Father and Grandfather (optional), Master of Ceremonies, Driver – usually a single rose or small flower of your choice pinned to the lapel or shoulder.

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The Church or Chapel

Flowers on Pews in the Church

Outdoors Wedding Ceremony

1 or 2 large flower arrangements in front of the church or chapel, or at the entrance – these can be moved and used at the reception venue as well.

Flowers for the pews – Normally just one flower on every second pew or chair, or scattered rose petals down the aisle.

Flowers for the registry table.

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The Wedding Reception

Table Centrepieces – Decide whether you would like vases, special dishes/containers, bird cages, candelabra or lanterns. If it’s an evening wedding you might need candles, or flowers and candles. The number of centrepieces will depend on how many guests you are inviting and how many tables there will be.

Main Table Arrangement – This is traditionally a long flat flower arrangement in the middle to the front of the table.

A flower at the back of every second chair.

Overlays, Runners and Chair Tie backs in any colour to match your colour scheme, are also items to consider, as most venues only supply white tablecloths, chair covers and napkins.

Table Centrepiece, Overlay & Chair Tie backs

Overlays – A square piece of material – this can be scrunched up in the middle of the table with the centrepiece on top or laid out flat over the white table cloth.

Runners – A long rectangular strip of material that runs across the table and down both sides.

Chair Tie Backs – Long strips of material tied around the back of the chairs.

Flowers for the Wedding Cake.

Fresh Rose Petals for decoration on the guest tables, down the aisle (if permitted) or as confetti.

We hope these ideas will help you plan the perfect flowers for your wedding, and that it will make communicating with your local wedding florist a little easier. If you are looking for flowers for a wedding in Durban, South Africa, please visit our website: Wedding Flowers in Durban.

If you would like a printable PDF version of this guide to take with you, let us know in the comments below and we will gladly send you a copy.

Update:Thank you Dries Vandewoude from Terra Unica for suggesting that we add a “thank-you-parents” bouquet to our list. When the bride or groom give their speech at dinner or in the church, it’s quite common in various parts of the world to thank the parents with a bouquet of flowers for all they’ve done for them throughout their lives…

inMotion Flowers is a leading online florist specializing in the same day delivery of fresh flowers, hampers and gifts throughout South Africa. We pride ourselves on exceptional personalized customer service and attention to detail. We have over 16 years of experience in the floral industry, and are pleased to share our knowledge and expertise with our readers. Visit our website to browse our wide range of flowers and gifts at: www.inmotionflowers.co.za or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you Diane! We really appreciate the comments as it inspires us to write more useful articles or to improve on the quality of the content. If you have any ideas, we would love to hear from you!
Lizé – Flowers for Africa

Shjoe, I never realised there was so much to be considered when arranging your wedding flowers. While I am not a bride (yet), you certainly have given me lots of useful information to consider when the time does arise. Thank you!

Thank you very much for your comment Michelle. You are right, there are a lot of things to consider when planning the flowers for your wedding, however with the help and advice of a good florist, this process can be greatly simplified and leave you with much less to worry about on your wedding day…
We are glad we could offer you some useful ideas and information.